NovelEnglishChapter 357
Audrey's POV
Charles met my eyes, his expression heavy with something unspoken.
“After what happened ten months ago, Blake kept your passing from his grandfather,” he said quietly. “He was
afraid the news would kill William. But the old man found out anyway.”
Charles’s shoulders sagged. “When he learned about your death, he almost died himself.”
| leaned against the wall, feeling suddenly cold.
“Everyone cback - Thalia and Olivia from boarding school, every Parker family member and friend. The
doctors gave up hope. We all thought it was over.”
| closed my eyes. My chest tightened. So William's health collapsed because of me. Again.
“In what we thought were his final moments, he just kept calling for you. Said he wanted to join you wherever
you were.”
| bit my lip hard enough to taste copper.
“Then Rachel Hayes burst into the emergency room.” Charles shook his head. “She grabbed his hand and told
him she was you - that you weren't dead after all. That brought him back somehow.”
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“But his mind hasn't been the ssince,” he added, lightly touching my shoulder. “He doesn’t recognize faces
or voices anymore. He only remembers feelings, associations, who people were to him.”
Charles’s voice softened. “Rachel knew enough about you - your habits, your past to convince him she was you.
She bechis
favorite visitor.”
| straightened up. “Charles, you've been with William for decades. You've seen everything between us and the
rest of the Parkers.”
| met his gaze directly. “I won't deny who | am to you. But as for the others...”
“Don’t worry,” he said quickly. “To everyone else, you're Mrs. Knox, Adrian's wife. | understand.”
After a moment, he asked, “But why are you visiting William today? What's your reason?”
‘I'm here to apologize,” | said, taking a breath. “I slapped Thalia at the mall, and Blake broughthere to say
sorry to the family
elder.”
| couldn’t help a small smile. “I also knocked Rebecca into sgarbage on our way in. So I'm apologizing for
both.”
| tossed my hair back. “When you've died once, you cback different. Can't be the doormat | was before.”
Charles stared, speechless.
| turned to the door, then glanced back over my shoulder. “Keep my secret, especially from Blake. He can’t know
I'm Audrey.”
Inside, the room was quiet except for medical equipment beeping steadily. William looked tiny in his bed, nothing
like the commanding presence | remembered. His eyes were closed, but he was talking to himself.
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Chapter 357
Charles, this cold is my fault, not the girl's,” he said weakly. “Don’t be so hard on her.”
He stared up at the ceiling, eyes cloudy. “She’s young. Taking care of a dying old man isn’t easy.”
1 moved to his bedside, throat tight.
“She’s not as attentive as Audrey was, but | can’t fault her patience...”
My nin his mouth felt like a physical pain.
“Audrey suffered so much in those years with Blake,” he said, voice tinged with regret.
| stood silently, tears forming.
“Before, if she knew | was this sick, she'd have dropped everything to be here.”
His words cut deep.
“But since that scare when | thought she’d died, whenever she visits now, she’s always rushing. Always business
talk or wedding plans with Blake...”
He sighed. “Blake must have hurt her badly. She doesn’t even care about this old man anymore.”
| wanted to protest, to tell him I'd never stopped caring.
“I miss how things were before she married my grandson,” William continued. “We were just caregiver and
patient technically, but we felt like real family. Now...”
| never imagined Rachel was using my identity like this. Getting whatever she wanted from William while not
even bothering to show him the care | would have. Watching someone who once felt like family becoming a
stranger, too busy for him... how much that must hurt him.
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